Things to Avoid
1 What leads to [the unending]quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]?
2 You are jealousandcovet [what others have] andyour lust goes unfulfilled; so youmurder. You are envious and cannot obtain [the object of your envy]; so you fight and battle. You do not have because you do not ask [it of God].
3 You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you askwith wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [hedonistic] desires.
4 You adulteresses [disloyal sinners–flirting with the world and breaking your vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world’s friend [that is, loving the things of the world] is being God’s enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purposethat the [human] spirit which He has made to dwell in us lusts with envy?
6 But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proudandhaughty,but[continually]gives[the gift of]grace to the humble[who turn away from self-righteousness].”
7 So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you.
8 Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people].
9 Be miserable and grieve and weep [over your sin]. Let your [foolish] laughter be turned to mourning and your [reckless] joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves [with an attitude of repentance and insignificance] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up, He will give you purpose].
11 Believers, do not speak againstorslander one another. He who speaks [self-righteously] against a brother orjudges his brother [hypocritically], speaks against the Law and judges the Law. If you judge the Law, you are not a doer of the Law but a judge of it.
12 There isonlyone Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy [the one God who has the absolute power of life and death]; but who are you to [hypocritically or self-righteously] pass judgment on your neighbor?
13 Come now [and pay attention to this], you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and carry on our business and make a profit.”
14 Yet you do not know [the least thing]about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You aremerelya vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air].
15 Insteadyou ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and we will do this or that.”
16 But as it is, you boast [vainly] in your pretensionandarrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.